Informit

Celebrating 60 Years of AIATSIS!

We’re proud to celebrate this milestone with AIATSIS at the AIATSIS Summit, having partnered with them for over 30 years.

A summit highlight was catching up with the wonderful Tui Raven, alongside Informit reps: Product Manager, Kate Moschetti, Head of Product, Laki Sideris, and our Research Consultant, Dr. Gretel Taylor.

The Informit Product team attended the Leading the Product Conference at the MCG last week.

From capturing ideas to optimising goals, our team absorbed all the knowledge, scoring big on the venue front!

But football puns aside, this was a fantastic opportunity for the team to learn more about product disruption. How do we identify and respond to disruption? How can we minimise the impacts, master disruption, and create innovations?

Best conference on ground.

This week is National Reconciliation Week.

Now more than ever, we need to understand and acknowledge our history and, as Australians, commit to deepening this understanding through education. The fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will — and must — continue.

Today we are honoured to share a video interview with Emeritus Professor John Maynard from our ‘Indigenous Scholars You Should Know’ series.

Emeritus Professor Maynard is one of Australia’s foremost Indigenous historians, who has reshaped Australian historiography with ground-breaking contributions.

His acclaimed books challenge prevailing notions in Aboriginal activism, race relations, and sports history, notably highlighting the influence of African American figures on 1920s Aboriginal political activism.

Professor Maynard has a PhD from the University of Newcastle and holds key positions and awards. A sought-after media commentator, he has appeared on programs and documentaries, leaving an indelible mark on the understanding of Aboriginal history.

Watch his engaging and insightful interview here: about.informit.org/indigenous-scholars/emeritus-professor-john-maynard

Emeritus Professor John Maynard - Informit Emeritus Professor John Maynard is the foremost Indigenous historian in Australia, who has reshaped Australian historiography with ground-breaking contributions. His acclaimed books challenge prevailing notions in Aboriginal activist history, race relations, and sports history, notably highlighting....

Last week we proudly launched Informit Explore, Australia's first learning and research database specifically designed for secondary schools and public libraries.

Thank you to those who attended! The atmosphere in the room was fantastic, with lots of great questions from the audience and lively discussions that continued in the lobby afterwards.

A special thanks to our keynote speaker, Alan James from Beaconhills College, who captivated the room with his entertaining and engaging presentation on the crucial role of Australian research in schools.

We also extend our gratitude to our guest speaker and education partner, Pru Mitchell from the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), for her thoughtful discussion on the significance of Australian research in the school sector.

“Our vision is for every Australian secondary student and lifelong learner to access quality, authoritative research through Informit Explore, encouraging the critical thinkers of tomorrow,” said Informit’s Director, Emma Juniper, at the event.

“We are excited about where this product will lead Informit in the future.”

Congratulations to our Head of Product, Laki Sideris for driving this new product innovation, and to Jessica Darnell, Explore’s Product Manager, who has been exclusively focused on making sure this resource meets the needs of librarians, library patrons, teachers and students.

A big round of applause to the event organising committee too, for making it such a great night: Ally Scale, Liam Ryan, Amit Pattnaik, Jessica Hunt & Sarah Fitchett.

Missed the event?

Watch the recording here: https://lnkd.in/gPFh-P3x

Read the event recap on the Informit website: https://lnkd.in/gbXFFhTJ

📷: Phil Nitchie

🌟 Meet Jessica Darnell, Product Manager 🌟

It's very fitting, during our Informit Explore launch week, to introduce the person who has made it all possible.

Jess has been exclusively focused on making sure our latest product Informit Explore meets the needs of the librarians, library patrons, teachers and students who’ll use it.

With a background in educational publishing and teaching, Jess loves working with language and ideas, and enjoys the strategic, business-oriented side of publishing and product development.

Apart from being an expert stakeholder manager, Jess also loves to travel, read and wrangle her two greyhounds (who have been known to make an appearance in the odd Teams meeting 😉).

We certainly couldn't have launched Informit Explore without her. Let's give it up for Jess! Congratulations on getting Informit Explore to launch week.

MEET THE INFORMIT TEAM: Jessica Darnell - Informit Background I am fairly new to the business, having started at Informit in August 2022, with a background in educational publishing and teaching. I love working with language and ideas, though I soon found myself enjoying the strategic, business-oriented side of publishing and product development. My...

WIN $650 worth of books from Amplify Bookstore📚 🥳

All you need to do is attend our Informit Explore Launch event at RMIT’s Kaleide Theatre on Wednesday 15th May at 3:30pm, to go in the running to win this amazing door prize!

Amplify Bookstore is an online bookstore specialising in books by BIPOC authors. Informit is proud to support Amplify’s mission of encouraging readers to diversify their bookshelves.

There’s an incredible mix of diverse reads in this book stack. You’ll even notice one of our ‘Indigenous Scholars You Should Know’ - Zena Cumpston, with her co-authored book: First Knowledges Plants.

RSVP to this free event via this link for your chance to win this much-envied bookstack: www.eventbrite.com/e/informit-explore-launch-tickets-873037527747

Our Head of Sales, Amit Pattnaik, was proud to present our brand-new product Informit Explore at ALIA on of the conference.

Designed specifically for schools and public libraries, Explore connects teachers, librarians and lifelong learners with authoritative Australian content at last.

With ready-made teaching and learning tools that combat misinformation and encourage critical thinking, Informit Explore offers a simple, topical entry point to the issues that really matter.

We’re grateful to the Australian Library and Information Association for the chance to showcase Explore in such an inspiring setting.

We’re excited for what’s to come.

Just a quick reminder that Expressions of Interest for Informit's 2024 First Peoples’ Lens Cultural Fund are closing this Friday.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to receive support for Indigenous-led projects in research and innovation, particularly those focused on digital knowledge sharing. With a total pool of $30,000 available, your project could be one of the selected recipients.

Apply now to secure your chance: https://lnkd.in/g_YAKDjs

That’s a wrap on day 1 & 2 of ALIA!

What an impressive turn out for Laki Sideris’s presentation on our OA Indigenous-led research initiatives.

Tomorrow brings with it more Informit fun. Catch our Head of Sales, Amit Pattnaik’s presentation on our latest product, Informit Explore, from 1:45 to 1:55 pm in Hall C.

Drop by Booth 20 to meet the Informit team, you may even spot our Director, Emma Juniper there!

📢 Attention all ALIA attendees in Adelaide this week 📢

Join Informit's Head of Product, Laki Sideris tomorrow from 2pm to 2:25pm in Hall B for a presentation on OA & Indigenous-led research initiatives with Professor Andrew Gunstone and Professor Peter Anderson.

Discover how collaborative initiatives undertaken by Informit are amplifying Indigenous-led research. In this presentation, Professor Gunstone, Professor Anderson and Laki Sideris will reflect on the imperatives of promoting First Nation voices within the academy and beyond through OA journal publishing programs.

Don't miss out on this informative presentation!

Who is headed to the 2024 Australian Library and Information Association National Conference at the Adelaide Convention Centre next week?

Swing by Booth 20 to meet the Informit team and discover how our suite of products can cater to your library's needs.

Explore our latest product, Informit Explore, designed for schools and public libraries. Plus, catch our Head of Sales, Amit Pattnaik's presentation on Informit Explore's benefits on Wednesday 8th May from 1:45 to 1:55 pm.

You can book in a meeting with the team here: https://calendly.com/amitpattnaik/meeting-informit?month=2024-05

See you in Adelaide!

📚 Are you a teacher or librarian at a Victorian secondary school? 🎉 Did you know that you can gain FREE access to Informit Explore, the first Australian research and learning database designed specifically for schools, until May 15th? 🌟

Thanks to ATOM Victoria and The Department of Families Fairness and Housing for working in partnership with us to deliver a range of free Australian history teaching resources this month. Don’t miss out on the chance to access Informit Explore, a database includes ready-made teaching tools that combat misinformation and encourage critical thinking.

Not sure how to gain access? DM us for more info!

📖

📢 Grant opportunity 📢

Informit is thrilled to announce our First Peoples' Lens Cultural Fund.

The Cultural Fund is designed to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander projects in research and innovation, with a particular emphasis on the digital sharing of knowledge.

In 2024, the fund will have a total pool of $30,000 to commit to selected projects that meet specific criteria. These include being awarded to an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person, group or organisation, focusing on publishing, research or library projects, and prioritising digital knowledge dissemination.

Applications close on 10 May 2024.

Head to our website to learn more and apply: about.informit.org/news/announcing-the-2024-first-peoples-lens-cultural-fund

Happy Library Lovers’ Day to the wonderful Australian Library and Information Association team and all the incredible libraries we work with across Australia and New Zealand.

Show your local, school, TAFE or Uni library some love today! 💓

💗 Happy Library Lovers' Day 💗 It's all pink and red at the ALIA National office today, we've got the morning tea set up and aside from the treats, we're excited to be sharing the library love through your activities, displays, and any way you're celebrating. Tag us or send photos through to [email protected] to be featured 😘

We hope your summer break was enjoyable and full of rest and renewal!

Speaking of renewal, excitingly this new year brings with it a new backend system upgrade for Informit, that's scheduled to kick off on January 25th and wrap up by the end of February. This upgrade will lead to significant long-term improvements in the frequency of new content updates and enhanced capability for metadata refreshes on our search platform.

🛑 What does this mean for Informit users?
During this time there will be a temporary pause in loading new text-based content and refreshing existing content records. This update will only impact our text records, with media continuing to be published during this time.

🔍 Why are we doing this?
At Informit, we are fully committed to the continual improvement of our systems to enhance the frequency and discoverability of our content, so this upgrade is a way of future-proofing our platform.

❓ Got a question about the upgrade?
Then contact our friendly Customer Success Team: [email protected] and +61 3 9657 5800.

Thank you for your patience as we commence this work.

2023 has been Informit’s most impactful year yet! Here’s some highlights:

🌟 Our First Peoples Lens Program was incredibly well received with the launch of the Indigenous Scholars You Should Know series and the inaugural Kummargii Yulendji Symposium.

🚀 We unveiled the Informit Explore pilot, a digital learning resource for Australian schools and public libraries, to actively support smaller community-based libraries in their efforts to combat the spread of misinformation.

🔓 We committed to Open Access with ongoing initiatives, expanding OA titles, and collaborating to ensure continued viability.

🎥 We introduced the Informit Expert video series, delving into important topics like media control, democracy, human rights, climate change and more.

Exciting news for 2024: 📰 We’re introducing The Informed Reader, our monthly newsletter starting February. Sign up for exclusive content, news, and industry insights: https://share.hsforms.com/1wcdn8YMLS4GUqbZxtCR1zg3hdl4

Our Informit team wishes you a joyful holiday season! Tomorrow will be our last day in the office before the break. We will be back at our desks on Wednesday 3 Jan.

See you in the new year! 🎉🎉🎉

Articles focusing on Indigenous Australia, healthcare and education featured highly on Informit Search in 2023.

The top two most downloaded articles looked at models of literacy education and how reported experiences of discrimination among Indigenous Australians may stem from implicit bias.

Excitingly, two out of the five top articles, are open access.

Read more about the top 5 articles of 2023 here: about.informit.org/news/top-5-articles-on-informit-in-2023

We’re still buzzing from the NSWPLA SWITCH Conference in Sydney last week, where our Informit team had some great discussions with delegates about combating misinformation and disinformation, and the crucial role that libraries play in supporting active citizens and lifelong learners.

Our team’s key takeaways were:

🏛️ Libraries can make a key difference to local, diverse communities

🌐The fight against misinformation is a global challenge

📚 Australian-focused content is vital for Australian public libraries

What we learnt was this: public library collections should reflect Australian society, and the important issues shaping our national identity. We are proud to say that our new product: Informit Explore, does just that, so it was a privilege to unveil this new product at SWITCH.

We left the conference inspired by the work that’s taking place in the public library space and the role that libraries are taking in shaping informed and empowered communities.

We look forward to continuing to connect with the delegates we met, in 2024 and beyond.

📰 Read more below:

Informit's key takeaways from the 2023 NSWPLA Switch Conference - Informit We wanted to share Informit’s key insights and reflections from the NSWPLA Switch Conference in Sydney last week. Our team, consisting of Laki Sideris, Head of Product, Jessica Darnell, Product Manager, Amit Pattnaik, Head of Sales, and Jodie Fitz, Business Development Manager, had some great disc...

Informit is thrilled to be at the heart of the action at the SWITCH conference today! Drop by Stand 35 for an exclusive demonstration of Informit Explore — the first major Australian database designed specifically for public libraries. 💻

The following article, ‘Walking in deadly blak women’s footprints’, featured in Artlink Magazine, is written by Dr. Paola Balla, one of the ‘Indigenous Scholars You Should Know’ in Informit's new interview series.

Dr. Balla’s current art and research focuses on black women’s art and activism, and its role in disrupting patriarchal and colonial dominant narratives and spaces.

‘Walking in deadly blak women’s footprints’, written in 2019, delves into Dr. Balla’s experience of working in white institutional spaces as an Aboriginal woman artist and discusses how art can be used as a tool for resistance, healing, and social justice, allowing Aboriginal women to address historical trauma, amplify their voices, and provide a platform for activism and community work.

Read more on Informit: search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.626191023109790

Image credit: Courtesy of Dr. Paola Balla, Mok Mok Murrup Yakuwa, 2023, Shadow Spirit

Informit is a proud sponsor of this year's Australian Library and Information Association's VET Library Conference. The event is virtual and starts at 11 AM today!

This year's conference theme, 'Breaking Barriers,' aligns perfectly with our latest product offering, Informit Explore, which provides access to a vast, curated collection of articles and media content. Designed for the everyday learner, Explore focuses on critical issues impacting Australia today.

We understand the essential role VET libraries play in empowering Australian learners. That's why we're eager to showcase how our new platform can significantly enhance learning experiences in vocational settings.

If you're attending the conference, don't miss our Associate Product Manager, Jessica Darnell, who will be presenting Explore from 3:20pm to 3:40pm.

For more information visit: https://lnkd.in/gJdZQTxg

Let's break barriers together and explore new horizons in vocational education.